Extubation Today

The last time I updated, I told you all how the doctors thought that Namine’s left diaphragm might be paralyzed. Well, they did a flouroscopy scan, which revealed that it is, in fact, paralyzed. To clarify, it’s not actually paralyzed, but it moves in the opposite direction. The doctors would actually prefer it not move…

The last time I updated, I told you all how the doctors thought that Namine’s left diaphragm might be paralyzed. Well, they did a flouroscopy scan, which revealed that it is, in fact, paralyzed. To clarify, it’s not actually paralyzed, but it moves in the opposite direction. The doctors would actually prefer it not move all instead of moving opposite.

Tomorrow (well, today actually – it’s after midnight) they want to try to extubate her. They initially said they weren’t going to, since intubation (and she will most likely need to be intubated again) is not a benign procedure. But the doctors believe the benefits far outweigh the risks. They will be able to see if Namine has difficulty breathing, and if so, where the majority of the problem comes from – her blocked airway or her diaphragm. If it’s from her airway, then she will for sure need a tracheostomy. If it’s her diaphragm, they’ll need to tighten it, like a drum. That will prevent the left side from going opposite of what the right side is doing (and the right side is functioning properly).

In preparation for tomorrow’s extubation, the doctors are weening her off the respirator. It’s remaining hooked up, of course, but tonight they are reducing the amount of work it’s doing. If Namine responds well to that, then the extubation will be a go. If not, then they’ll skip the extubation and go straight to planning for the tracheostomy.

We did have a little scare today, but it’s better now. Namine’s left lung was collapsed, because the breathing tube got a little too far down her throat; it was feeding air directly to her right lung, so her left wasn’t getting any. After they pulled the air tube out a bit, her left lung inflated again. They did an X-ray of her chest area today at 5:30 pm to make sure, and the doctor said it looks fine.

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